A Christian couple in the United Kingdom has been fined 3,600 pounds sterling ($5,757.47 in U.S. currency) for their bed and breakfast's policy of allowing only married couples to share a room.

Peter and Hazelmary Bull have operated the Chymorvah Private Hotel near the town of Penzance in Cornwall, England for the past 25 years. Last summer, two homosexual men sued the Bulls after they refused to give them a double room.

The Bulls told CBN News they have a strict policy of not renting double rooms to any unmarried couple -- gay or straight in the hotel that is also their home.

"Being Christian, we believe it's a moral duty to our Lord to carry out his wishes and what he wants. We try to be fair in everything we do, but this item is our respect for married rights," the couple said.

On Tuesday, a judge ruled the policy violates a law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Simon Calvert of The Christian Institute spoke with CBN News about the wider impact this case has on religious and personal freedoms in United Kingdom. Click play for his comments.

In his 12-page ruling, Judge Rutherford said that in the past 50 years social attitudes had changed. He added that the Bulls "have the right to manifest their religion or beliefs' and said both sides in the case 'hold perfectly honorable and respectable, albeit wholly contrary, views."

Hazelmary Bull spoke about the decision outside the courthouse.

"Chymorvah Guesthouse is not just our livelihood, it is our home," she read from a prepared statement. "We don't expect everyone to agree with our beliefs, but we do want the freedom to be able to live by our own values under our own roof. Everyone benefits from those liberties, and everyone loses something when they are watered down."